PTO Report

from ISK Annual Report 2020-21

Technology Department Report

Rachel Radcliffe

PTO Secretary

If there’s one thing the PTO did this year, it was to adapt to the realities of these COVID-19 times. Gone were the touchy-feely welcome back picnics, the community-building potlucks, the fun movie nights, the amazing on-campus Duka, the cornucopia of mouth-watering food at International Day, and pretty much everything ISK has come to associate with the PTO. Instead, the PTO put on its thinking cap, rolled up its sleeves, and started innovating ways to keep our community together.

Community building is one of the PTO’s primary purposes. Most of you experience this through the grade-level WhatsApp groups we administer. ISK is at its best when its parent and teacher communities are strongly connected, and when new families are assimilated and quickly embraced. This year, we weren’t able to host new parent welcome events and other parent socials on campus, so we took advantage of Nairobi’s many spacious outdoor venues. New parent welcome coffees and sundowners took place in September and January, and were well attended by new and existing ISK families, the ISK administration, and board members. The popular Nairobi Bus Tour took place in September, using two buses this time to ensure proper social distancing. Other parent coffees and sundowners were hosted off-campus when possible, and there were also a few grade-specific social events outside of ISK that gave new students an opportunity to meet their classmates in person.

Parent Social Bus Tour

Our new take on the Taste of Nations replaced the booths of regional cuisine with a Silent Auction. Our team quickly built a website that showcased gift baskets prepared by many of the 67+ countries represented at ISK as well as vouchers donated by local businesses. When the website opened on January 18, the ISK community jumped right in, eager to win one of the 76 baskets and vouchers, 24 raffle prizes, 5 guessing jars, and a painting that had captured their attention. The final moments before the auction closed on January 22 were an adrenaline rush of bidding as people fought to bring home the American junk food basket, the voucher from Ate restaurant, the Norway & Sweden basket, the genuine Latin BBQ voucher, one of the amazing Israeli baskets, or any of the other thoughtful and generous baskets prepared and donated by the ISK community. The PTO was able to raise Ksh. 422,850. Even though this was about half of what was raised last year, it still exceeded expectations because of the pandemic situation.

The PTO wasn’t able to host its usual staff appreciation lunch last year (and sadly, we also can’t host it this year). In December, though, a few of us were able to make quick visits to campus to show a little love to all of the ISK staff. We handed out DUKA-sourced goodie bags to let everyone know how much they mean to us. That simple and brief human connection was a wonderful way to end the calendar year as we prepared to break for the holiday. In December, the PTO also organized a pareddown version of its annual Holiday Bazaar. This event normally gives ISK students an opportunity to shop for affordable holiday gifts on campus from over 50 local vendors from the Duka and other craftspeople. This year, we moved it to an ISK family’s garden and focused on the Duka’s existing pool of vendors. ISK community members were able to visit in small groups and get their shopping done at a safe and festive event that was a win/win for both us and the DUKA vendors.

The PTO is proud to support Service Learning at ISK. This year, we worked with the High School service club team to do things a little differently. We invited all of ISK’s service clubs to participate in a Shark Tank process.

Taste of Nations

DUKA

They worked to persuade a panel of judges consisting of PTO representatives, Mr. Maldonado, and each other so they could win up to $500. A total of eight clubs, including two very brave and eloquent 5th Graders, should be proud of the excellent presentations they made in the Tank! In the end, the PTO awarded a total of $2,000 to five clubs. Well done to Plastiki Rafiki, Greenhouse, Construction by Design, Shangilia, and Tukimbie Pamoja! The Duka’s physical shop was sorely missed this year, but the Duka team found new ways to keep things going despite the pandemic restrictions. The Duka was moved off-campus and hosted at ISK family homes. It also stepped up its efforts to advertise on the PTO’s Facebook group, established its own Instagram page, and began accepting M-PESA payments. Capacity building workshops for vendors will take place, but exclusively online. Compared to last year, revenue is down by about 50%. However, we are grateful to have been able to support the Duka’s vendors as much as we have.

One of the PTO’s premier events each year is its Friends of the Arts (FOTA) art exhibition.

The pandemic compelled FOTA to take a different direction this year, moving from the usual physical art show to an online exhibition. Our amazing FOTA team quickly built an easyto-navigate and beautifully curated website showcasing more than 200 pieces from 68 artists from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Between April 12 - 22, over 40 pieces were sold, including to buyers overseas!

It’s been a very unusual year for the PTO, but we are proud of what we’ve been able to achieve. We are grateful for the support we’ve received from ISK and for the energy, ambition, dedication and creativity of our volunteers! Thank you!